A father is said to be responsible for a call out to the emergency services following a fart that was mistakenly thought to be a noxious gas leak.

Father of two, Eric Wilson, is thought to have farted in his living room around 7:35pm after the family’s evening meal. The smell registered with the rest of the family within a matter of seconds leading to Mrs Wilson to squeal “Oh. My. God. What is that smell?”.

According to police reports, Mr Wilson is said to have denied farting and this prompted Mrs Wilson to rush her children out of the house and call the police.

In a statement to the media a family spokesperson said that Mrs Wilson presumed that the smell was sulphur dioxide or similar: “The continuing denial of Mrs Wilson’s husband meant that she had no other option then to believe the sickeningly vile smell to be some sort of toxic gas.”

“However,” the statement went on, “it has now become apparent that the smell was indeed Mr Wilson’s potent gust and after close questioning by the police and Mrs Wilson he admitted that it must have been that bean burrito he ate at lunch”.

Neighbours recall the emergency services closing the street and preparing to evacuate homes within a mile radius, as well as talk about bringing in the army to secure the area.

Jill who lives on the street in question said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes, we were terrified and the smell as you approached the Wilson house was incredible, my eyes were literally burning”.

Another neighbour also said: “the smell was so bad you could taste it”.

Mr Wilson is expected to issue an apology to his family, community and emergency services later today.